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The handling of information is not one of Government's strong points.

I'm bothered by the fact that the Government-of-the-day either does not release information, or suddenly pours out streams of useless or inaccurate information. I'm bothered by the fact that the Government-of-the-day has never published the graduation results of the public education system or fully disclosed the contents of the publicly funded Hopkins Report on Education. Or the Hospital Report. Or a detailed breakdown of tourist arrivals. Or...

   Not revealing accurate and honest information is akin to a corporate entity like HSBC or Argus Insurance or BELCO not publishing an annual report.  However, publishing inaccurate or false information - as with the 2006 Tourist arrivals and revenue from Tourism - intending that the public should rely on it, is worse. It's the same as BELCO declaring 'false losses' in order to justify a huge price increase.

  So I'm bothered by a now clear track record of the bad handling of critical information. The most bothering aspect is that it seems to me that while the Government-of-the-day seeks to delude me - which it isn't doing - it is apparently having great success in deluding others but, worst of all, is deluding itself.

  If any corporate entity - and that's all that any government is - is seeking to problem-fix by starting out with flawed or false information; then, unless there is heavenly intervention, that government is doomed to fail. However, with Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Putin flipping things in Russia, and George W. still in the White House; I don't think that us lot out here at 32N64W will get much heavenly time. So us lot will have to rely on our own island resources; and that means the Government-of-this-day.    

   Going forward, Bermuda needs honest and accurate data. Data to support the Workplace Equity Act.   Data to drive the reform of Bermuda's public Education system. Data to intelligently adjust the social underpinnings of Bermuda's radically changed society and still expanding economy. But the data track record is not good. Because of that, I have little faith that there will be, I have little reason to believe that there can be, good progress made in these, or many other areas.

   So in January 2008, with shot-up black male bodies falling about about the Christmas shootings, here's where I stand.

I see Bermuda's strategic and national problems. I see Bermuda's national data problem. I see a need to fix these Bermudian problems, and I see the urgency of the need to have good working fixes.

I see people who I know have the raw intelligence to see, analyze, and fix the problems. But I see a national as well as a party track record of not seeing, not analyzing, and not fixing problems.

I see a need for immediate change. I see a need to collect and display honest and accurate data. I see a need to properly analyze and then fix problems. I see people who have the intelligence to do that. But do these people have the political will? Or are they just playing a glitzy political game?

I reckon that by January 1st 2009, the answers that I seek will have unfolded. I hope that I'm pleased with what unfolds.[[In-content Ad]]

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